It seems hugely variable. Some companies have done some serious cost cutting to appeal to larger markets and have definately undermined their product. Sound may be similar, but materials and build quality are just not the same. My foray into the world of B&W taught me this, while others, like totem, sound the same today as they did 5 years ago.
Are modern speakers better than old speakers?
I have a pair of Moraunt Short Signifer speakers, which was their flagship in 1980. Have speakers improved dramtically since then? I would like to know what price bracket one would be in now to outperform these. I like their sound, wonderfull 12inch drivers and a paper mid without surrounds (no rubber/etc) plus a nice ferrofluid filled tweeter, which was relatively new technology at the time I believe. Also I would like to know if it is recommendable to upgrade the crossovers and cabling. Also perhaps bypassing the high frequency level adjustment. Please let me know your thoughts on this.